


The Best of Both Worlds

by planetarydaydream



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28666947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/planetarydaydream/pseuds/planetarydaydream
Summary: The Marauders meet up in the summer for a night out in London.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 12





	The Best of Both Worlds

It had been too quiet for too long, Remus thought. Ever since he started at Hogwarts he had gotten used to noise. He shared a dormitory with the Marauders, after all. Now, every summer he realized how silent it truly was, in his small cottage. 

It had only been him and his father for quite a while now. With his mum, there   
was always something, always a record on, or some television program, or even just conversation. But now there was nothing. He rarely saw his father, and when he did, they acted more like coworkers than a father and son. Remus didn’t mind, though. It’s not like his father had liked him very much, not since before he could remember. So Remus spent his days reading. One thing he could truly appreciate about Lyall Lupin was his book collection. His father collected books, both muggle and magic. And of course, Remus had read every single one. 

Before Hogwarts, after his mother’s passing, was when he took to reading. Lyall wouldn’t talk to him, and being a lonely eight year old with no friends gave him lots of time to spend pouring himself into books. He started with his mother’s, old muggle romance novels and such. And he never really stopped. Now, he was rereading Jane Eyre, Hope’s favourite.

Suddenly, he heard a noise, a small pecking from the window above his bed. He stood up, and pushed it open, to let in the Potter’s small tawny owl. There was a letter in his bead, with a red seal. He took it, and sent the owl off. Remus opened it, to find a short letter written in James’s neat penmanship.

Dear Moony,

Meet us outside your house at eleven o’clock tonight! 

Love,

Padfoot & Prongs

Remus read the letter, then read it again. It was extremely vague, especially for James and Sirius. He realized that whatever it was, they probably didn’t want Remus to have a chance to refuse. Still, he could use a night out, after a month of sitting in his room. 

He thought of Lyall, who would never let him go out after dark, especially only a few days after the full moon. But, it wasn’t as if his father would notice his absence at all, as long as he got home before five in the morning. So, it was settled. Tonight, he would sneak out.

Remus went into their small kitchen, and decided to make spaghetti. There were books covering every surface, most of them open with annotations scribbled in the margins. Remus was glad he had inherited his mother’s talent for small, fine handwriting, rather than his father’s illegible scrawl. He put a pot on the small stovetop, and boiled the water, before adding the noodles. Remus looked in the barren pantry. They were out of almost everything. His father hadn’t gone shopping in weeks. Remus resolved to pick some groceries up the next day. 

He opened a can of pasta sauce and heated it up in another pot. Once everything was ready, he split the spaghetti into two bowls. Remus quickly washed the dishes. The house didn’t need anymore mess. He then walked over to the basement stairwell.

“I made dinner!” he shouted, his voice echoing downwards. Remus knew that if he didn’t make the supper, his father might be too busy at work to eat at all, something the two of them had in common. It was often James who would go down to the Hogwarts kitchens and get Remus a plate of food when he was too busy studying to go to the great hall. But Remus knew when he was at home he had to take responsibility.

“I’ll just be a moment!” Lyall yelled back.

Remus settled at their small dining table. There were three chairs, but one was collecting a layer of dust, after being left untouched for so long. He punched his father’s notes and charts back to make room for his plate, and started to eat. His father might take hours to come, there was no point in waiting. But, to Remus’s surprise, he heard Lyall’s footsteps coming up the stairs no more than two minutes later.

“Yours is on the counter,” Remus said.

Lyall Lupin was a tall man, but Remus now matched him in height. They had the same amber eyes, and the same dark blond curls, though his father’s were cut short and gelled back, so they stayed out of his face. Other than that, they looked quite different. Where Remus was thin and lanky, his father was stocky and broad-chested. Where Remus was pale, and covered in thin while scars and light freckles, Lyall had a perfect complexion. 

Lyall took the plate Remus made, and sat at his usual seat. This was the first time they were eating together since the day Remus had come back from Hogwarts.

“So, how are... the Black heir... Jeremy... and... Patrick?” Lyall asked gesturing vaguely with his hand.

“Sirius, James and Peter,” Remus sighed. “They’re good,”

“Good,” Lyall said. 

“How is your project going?” Remus asked.

“‘s going well,” Lyall replied.

Remus felt their conversations were always forced, and quite awkward; because really, they didn’t know each other at all. Lyall’s missions, projects, and studies were all kept secret. All ministry business and such. And Remus was simply a quiet person, never sharing much. Of course, after his first year, he had told his father all about his friends, and his classes, and how much he just loved Hogwarts, but now there seemed no point. His father was always busy, and it wasn’t as if he’d remember it anyway. After Hope’s death, Lyall had taken to drinking, and seemingly hadn’t stopped.

“What are you reading, now?” Lyall asked.

“Jane Eyre,” Remus said looking down, avoiding eye contact. Sometimes, his father would get upset when he touched his mother’s things. The small television still sat in front of the couch, though it was not to be used. Probably didn’t work anymore anyways. And the records remained stacked on their shelf, to keep the same order Hope had left them in. Remus always put the books back in their very same places, just in case. 

“Again? Isn’t this your fifth time now?” Lyall asked.

Remus was surprised. Lyall usually wasn’t the observant sort, at least not concerning his son. “Seventh now, actually,” 

“That was her favourite,” Lyall said, solemnly.

“‘s why I like it so much,”

Lyall simply nodded, as he finished his food and got up to put his plate away. He then walked back down into the basement, without another word. 

Remus washed up his plate, then walked back to his room and set an alarm for half past ten. He assumed they were going to be out late, and he probably wouldn’t get much sleep later. So Remus flopped down on his bed, and slowly drifted into a slumber.

After a couple hours, his alarm sounded, and he quickly shut it off to avoid it alerting his father.

Remus wasn’t sure what the occasion was, or how to dress. But he supposed that there probably weren’t many fancy black tie events going on after eleven at night. He threw on a a tea-green knit jumper, some brown corduroys and his black and white trainers. He thought about bringing his wand, just in case, but decided against it, as he was underage anyways. He put some muggle cash, and also a couple galleons in his pocket. Remus quickly combed through his hair, hoping it wasn’t too messy. Though, it would probably be better than James’s anyways, which was always sticking up at odd angles. 

His father had layers and layers of protection charms on the house, and the front door would be impossible to go through. But Remus was counting on being able to go out his window. It was small, and close to his ceiling, but Remus thought he’d be skinny enough to fit though. 

He opened it, letting in the cool air of the summer night, and stood on his bed. Now, when he did this his head touched the ceiling. He pulled himself up, and managed to climb out, falling into his mother’s old garden, that had been left without maintenance for so long you could hardly call it a garden anymore, just a mess of weeds, flowers, and ivy that was slowly growing its way up the walls of the cottage.

He brushed the dry soil off of his clothing and got up. It was quite dark in his little neighbourhood. He could see the stars. 

Remus checked his wrist watch. It was ten to eleven. He was slightly jittery. What if Lyall found his bed empty? Though he knew his father was probably slumped over his work table by now, Remus still worried. He was hoping once he saw the Marauders again, that feeling would go away.

He hadn’t seen them since the train, back in June. It had been over a month now. Sure, they exchanged letters every week, but other than that, life was dull. Remus had somehow gotten used to the constant buzz that had surrounded him at Hogwarts, though, at first it had irritated him. At first, he saw three spoilt rich kids. Now, he saw his brothers.

Then, in the darkness, he saw three boys running towards him. 

“Slow down James! You’re making the rest of us look bad!” shouted an out of breath voice that was unmistakably Sirius’s.

“Oh sod off! You’d be fast too if you came to the early morning Quidditch practices!” James retorted.

Pete was lagging behind the both of them, panting heavily. Remus waved, but realized, they probably couldn’t see him. There were no street lamps by his house. His furry little problem had it’s advantages, though very few.

Remus ran up to meet James.

“Moony!” James shouted, pulling him into a brotherly embrace. 

“We missed you!” said Sirius.

“It’s been a long summer,” said Peter, who was finally walking up to them and was all red in the face from the run. 

“Missed you lads too. Where are we going?” Remus asked.

“That’s a surprise,” James said mischievously.

“Okay, but at least tell me how we’re getting there; you can’t have run all the way to Wales,” Remus said.

“Come on!” Sirius said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. “We can’t be late!”

Remus noticed they were all dressed in muggle clothing. Sirius wore a brand new looking leather jacket, a Led Zeppelin tee shirt and black ripped jeans. James was wearing a suede jacket with a yellow top with the buttons only done up half way and blue flared jeans. And Peter had on striped trousers, a blue polo and a sweater vest. As they walked along, Remus noticed Sirius seemed taller. He looked down to realize Sirius’s boots had at least a three inch heel, which brought him up to James’s height, though Remus was a good four inches taller than James.

Suddenly, Remus saw it. A large, wonky looking purple bus was stopped at the muggle bus stop by his neighboorhood. Remus had never seen it before, but instantly recognized it.

“The Knight Bus!” he exclaimed. 

The boys climbed on, and each sat on one of the rumpled beds.

“Off to London, then!” shouted the driver, as the doors closed.

“London? That’s hours away!” Remus said.

“Not on here it isn’t! It only took us fifteen minutes to get from the Potter’s place in Brighton all the way to Cardiff,” Sirius explained.

“How’s your summer been?” James asked.

“Oh nothing interesting. Lots and lots of reading,” Remus said. “How about you?”

“Quidditch. Loads of Quidditch,” Sirius said.

James was hoping to make captain this year, Remus recalled. And he was the best player in the school, by far. He truly deserved it. Still, James was always insisting on practices, even in the most inconvenient times.

Sirius was staying with the Potters now, after his family disowned him. And Peter could just Floo over from his home in Surrey anytime he wanted. They had spent the entire summer together.

“You’re on the Quidditch team too, you know. You ought to practice,” Peter said.

“Maybe I’ll quit,” Sirius shrugged. “The team could probably use a new beater. Maybe you should try out, Pete. You know much more about it than I do anyways,” Sirius said.

Peter grinned, always happy to be better at something than someone. “You know I don’t like to play competitively. Too much pressure. I’d rather just watch,” Peter responded.

“How about you, Moony? You could join the team!” James teased.

Remus shuddered at the thought. First year flying lessons had been traumatizing enough. If he could avoid it, he did his best to stay off brooms. While he didn’t mind heights under normal circumstances, speeding across the sky on a small wooden stick was a whole other thing in itself.

“In your dreams, Prongs. The team simply couldn’t handle my superior skills,” Remus said sarcastically.

Suddenly, the bus hit a large bump, sending them all flying up off their seats. It came to an abrupt stop, that made Remus fall back off the bed.

“Sorry about that lads! ‘ave fun in London!” the driver shouted cheerfully.

The Marauders got up and walked down the aisle towards the door. Remus was the last out. As he passed the old man in the drivers seat, Remus tried to hand over some of his cash.

“‘s no need. The bloke with the glasses already paid,” the man said.

Remus made a mental note to pay James back later, though he knew James would never accept his money anyways.

Remus wasn’t quite sure where they were. He’d never really been to London, only King’s Cross. There were people all around them. He’d heard somewhere that London never slept, and that seemed to ring true. Bright lights shone from various neon club signs, and Remus hoped they weren’t heading into that sort of venue.

The sort of wandered down the street, Sirius looking around in awe. He probably hadn’t been to London before either. 

“Do you lot even know where we’re going?” Remus asked.

“Of course we do! It should be right around here...” James said, looking up at the street signs.

“I think we took a wrong turn,” said Peter worriedly.

“We ought to be there by now!” Sirius said.

Remus rolled his eyes. Of course they had gotten lost in muggle London. Then, they turned the corner, following James, who probably had the best sense of direction out of the four. 

“There! There it is!” exclaimed Sirius.

It was an abandoned building, with no lights or signs at all. It had an old wooden door with the window boarded up. There was red bubbly graffiti on the door that read Best of Both Worlds.

“This is where we’re going?” Remus said. James and Peter looked confused too.

“I’m sure it’s better on the inside!” said James, always optimistic.

“Andromeda told me all about it,” Sirius explained.

Remus had never personally met Sirius’s cousin Andromeda, but based on Sirius’s anecdotes, she was definitely cool. 

“Do we just... walk in?” said Peter, nervously eyeing the building. It looked like it could fall apart with a gust of wind, and there was all sorts of profane graffiti covering it. 

“‘spose so,” said Sirius.

He grabbed the handle, and pulled the door open. Inside, it was dark and dusty, and smelled of mildew. It looked like the sort of haunted house you’d see in horror flicks. Down the foyer, was what looked like a door to a basement. Remus noticed that on that door, there was the same logo as on the front door, and arrows pointing towards it.

“The venue’s called Best of Both Worlds right?” Remus asked Sirius. 

“Yeah,” Sirius responded.

“I think we ought to go that way, then,” said Remus, pointing towards the basement door.

“Cheers, Remus, you found it!” Sirius said, excitedly. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“Are you sure? It looks dangerous...” Peter said.

“Oh, lighten up Pete!” James said, nudging Peter, who looked worried, as per usual.

And so the opened the door, to reveal loud music and bright lights. It was a bar, Remus realized, looking at the large array of bottles behind a large serving table. There were tables and chairs one one end of the venue, and on the other was a dance floor.

It was pretty large, much bigger than the building above. It must’ve been spelled too, and they couldn’t hear any of the music even from just outside the door. There were people in all sorts off different clothing, some dressed normally, and others dressed like wizards trying to dress normally.

There seemed to be glitter everywhere and everything was shiny. There was a small stage behind the large dance floor. Everyone was dancing to upbeat music that seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.

“Ta-da!” Sirius said, over the music.

“Is this a muggle bar or a wizard one?” Remus asked, curious.

“Both!” Sirius answered.

“How does that work with the statute of secrecy, and all?” 

“There are no wands allowed, and it moves every week, all across the country. It’s pretty unlikely to find it twice, unless you know someone that works here. Andromeda’s friends with one of the bartenders,” Sirius explained.

“Cool!” said Remus and James.

Peter still looked unsure, but seemed to go along with it. 

The place really was packed, and was a little difficult to navigate. They made their way to the bar table. On the menu above were lists of obscure wizard beverages, and muggle one’s as well. 

Sirius ordered them all shots of fire whiskey. The bartender, a young man with blue hair, didn’t even question their ages. Though, they really were all almost seventeen anyways. They drank them all at the same time, and Remus felt as the burning liquid made its way down his throat. That had used to make him wince, but he was now used to it.

It was hard to talk, as they’d all have to yell over all the other noise. Sirius pulled them all onto the dance floor, just as the music stopped. Then, out from the wings of the small stage came a band.

“This is Starstruck! They were in Wizard Weekly magazine a little while back!” said James.

Remus had never heard of them before, but they started playing an upbeat tune that was starting to like. He was sort of dancing along awkwardly. Remus had never been much of a dancer. Peter, was surprisingly the best of the four of them. Sirius was pretty good, and James was really bad, but his confidence made up for it so no one seemed to notice.

The song finished; and then Remus did recognize the next tune they played. Sirius had the record, and they played the album all through fourth year.

The chorus came on, and then Remus couldn’t help but sing along.

“Rebel rebel, you've torn your dress,

Rebel rebel, your face is a mess,

Rebel rebel, how could they know?

Hot tramp, I love you so!”

Sirius and James were now shouting along too, completely off key. Peter was dancing with a girl with big blonde hair, who was as good as him. They were smiling and laughing as if they’d actually known each other for more than five minutes.

James made his was over to a girl that was wearing a white jumpsuit and had on very pretty glittery makeup. And they started dancing together too. Remus couldn’t help but laugh. James had already stepped on her feet.

Then, the band started playing a slower song, which Remus thought was a little odd. He didn’t recognize this one either, though it did sound quite familiar, but Sirius seemed to. Remus felt a little out of place, everyone else in the venue seemed dressed to dance, and he was wearing a jumper he had had since fourth year. It was practically a crop top now.

“Come dance with me,” Sirius said, as the two of them seemed to be the only ones left on the dance floor without partners. The other two Marauders had paired up with their strangers.

Still, Remus was surprised at this request. It wasn’t the sort of thing he and Sirius did. In fact, Remus tried to avoid being too close with Sirius. Remus was trying to get over his crush on him since the start of fifth year, because really, he was setting himself up for disappointment. But, though he had many reasons to object, Remus took Sirius’s outstretched hand, and started swaying along to the beat. It was hard to say no to him, with his puppy dog eyes. Sirius was singing along under his breath. He really did have a beautiful voice. So, Remus, feeling bold, told him so.

“Thanks,” said Sirius, now looking down at the floor.

“What song is this?” Remus whispered. He had definitely heard this chorus before.

“Unchained Melody,” 

Remus then remembered. This was in his mum’s record collection. She used to play it, when she wasn’t too sick, and convince Lyall to dance with her. And he always would. There was a polaroid of them dancing, somewhere. In their photo album, under all the books. Though if there weren’t photo proof, Remus would never believe his father had ever danced with anyone. Tainted by the vague memory, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Sirius was staring at him, with grey eyes like the sky after a storm, glistening in the bright lights. Remus stared back. 

“Woah, my love, my darling

I've hungered, hungered for your touch

A long, lonely time,

And time goes by so slowly,

And time can do so much,”

Sirius sang along with the spiky-haired woman on stage. Though, Remus only paid attention to the boy in front of him.

Sirius looked conflicted. “Can I tell you something, Moony?” 

“Anything,”

“I have to tell you that... I really like you,” 

“Pads, we’ve been friends for six years, if you didn’t like me I’d be concerned— Oh,“ Remus started, before realizing what Sirius had meant.

“I’m really sorry about this, I’m sure you just want to stay as friends, so forget I said anything,” Sirius said, speaking quickly and avoiding eye contact. Sirius broke away and started walking towards the bar as fast as possible through the dense crowd.

The song changed again, this time some pop song he had heard some of the girls at Hogwarts singing back in the spring. Remus followed Sirius, and grabbed his hand. Sirius turned around, slightly frowning.

“I like you too,” Remus said, barely a whisper but somehow Sirius had heard him.

“For real?” Sirius asked, furrowing his brow.

“For real,” Remus affirmed. Sirius grinned and as did Remus. They hadn’t let go of each other’s hands.

“Can I kiss you?” Sirius asked.

Remus nodded, and leaned in, slowly weaving his hand through Sirius’s hair because god, it was so soft, as they pressed their lips against each other’s. He froze for a second, because the moment in itself was so unreal to him, after years of waiting. 

When they finally pulled apart after what felt like an eternity and a millisecond at the same time, Remus kept his eyes closed for a moment, hoping that if this were a dream, that he would never have to wake up. When he opened them, he once again found Sirius’s gaze, and smiled softly, unsure of what came next.

But he didn’t need to know what was next, Remus realized, because he had Sirius, and they were together.


End file.
